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BBC NEWS | Technology | British Library books go digital

BBC NEWS | Technology | British Library books go digital.

Last Updated: Friday, 28 September 2007, 12:45 GMT 13:45 UK
British Library books go digital
By Cristina Jimenez

More than 100,000 old books previously unavailable to the public will go online thanks to a mass digitisation programme at the British Library.

The programme focuses on 19th Century books, many of which are unknown as few were reprinted after first editions. The library believes online access to the titles will help teachers. "If there are no modern editions teachers cannot use them for their courses," said Dr Kristian Jensen, from the British Library.

Cornell U. Study Reveals Students’ Trust in Google | The Cornell Daily Sun

Cornell U. Study Reveals Students’ Trust in Google | The Cornell Daily Sun.

Cornell U. Study Reveals Students’ Trust in Google
September 19, 2007 - 12:00am, By Nikhita Parandekar

According to a recent study completed at Cornell, students “trust Google’s positioning more than their rational judgments.” The study revealed that students are biased towards links that appear first when using a search engine such as Google.

The study obtained information through the use of “eye tracking,” where a small camera captures the reflection off a subject’s cornea to determine the position of the eye on the computer screen. According to Prof. Geri Gay, communication, co-author of the study, researchers were then able to know exactly what each subject looked at and for how long.

They're community centers, says chief who bans hushing at libraries

They're community centers, says chief who bans hushing at libraries.

They're community centers, says chief who bans hushing at libraries
BY JOYCE SHELBY, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER, Sunday, September 23rd 2007, 4:00 AM

In at the Brooklyn Public Library: rock concerts, children playing and singing, adults talking. Out at the Brooklyn Public Library: getting shushed by librarians.

That's because recently-appointed Brooklyn Public Library Executive Director Dionne Mack-Harvin views libraries as community centers - places where people are expected to talk to each other, not sit in silence.

Mack-Harvin is so determined to end the shushing that librarians from all 60 branches have been attending training sessions to get the word out about her approach. "We've moved away from what some consider the 'shushing library' model of the past, from being a sterile, educational place that's somewhat elitist," she said, "to being a community space where everyone walking in the door can find a place for themselves."

Hobbs: Newer eBook reader devices show promise, improvements | www.tucsoncitizen.com

Newer eBook reader devices show promise, improvements | www.tucsoncitizen.com.

Published: 09.24.2007
Newer eBook reader devices show promise, improvements
by QUINCEY HOBBS,Tucson Citizen

EBooks have been the technology that has been on the verge of revolutionizing our society for the better part of a decade. They are essentially publications that were packaged in a PDF format with a table of contents.

A testament to the promise of eBooks is Google's effort to digitize every book in existence, and that most libraries offer eBooks for loan. What has hampered the true emergence of eBooks are their readability.

The idea of flipping through a PDF file is not as appealing as actually curling up with a good book, but I think that it will be in the not-to-distant future. There are a multitude of devices that can be used to read eBooks. The problem is that they aren't practical.

Brief article, mentions the newer devices and readers.. Sony's Reader; the Iliad from iRex; and, the iRiver eBook Reader...

Sputnik: 50th Year Anniversary

Sputnik: 50th Year Anniversary.

Telemetry from Sputnik I as it passed overhead (WAVE file)

Sputnik and The Dawn of the Space Age History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a basketball, weighed only 183 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. That launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R space race.

Hard to believe, 50 years.. where did the time go? Thanks to Gary Price of ResourceShelf for the pointer to this one.. see also more primary documents from the NARA/Eisenhower Library...

Times to Stop Charging for Parts of Its Web Site - New York Times

Times to Stop Charging for Parts of Its Web Site - New York Times.

Times to Stop Charging for Parts of Its Web Site
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA, Published: September 18, 2007

The New York Times will stop charging for access to parts of its Web site, effective at midnight tonight.

The move comes two years to the day after The Times began the subscription program, TimesSelect, which has charged $49.95 a year, or $7.95 a month, for online access to the work of its columnists and to the newspaper’s archives. TimesSelect has been free to print subscribers to The Times and to some students and educators.

In addition to opening the entire site to all readers, The Times will also make available its archives from 1987 to the present without charge, as well as those from 1851 to 1922, which are in the public domain. There will be charges for some material from the period 1923 to 1986, and some will be free.

Interesting move, more ad revenue by stopping charging for access, go figure this new Web 2.0 world.. We have the NY Times Archive at our library, so the online content from 1923-1986 is still available to our patrons because of the ProQuest database we purchase.. I'm sure ProQuest is not too thrilled with this change, but as a regular reader of the NYT, and visitor to its Web site, I love having the direct free access that is ad-supported...

The Year of the Open - 9/15/2007 - Library Journal

The Year of the Open - 9/15/2007 - Library Journal.

The Year of the Open
By Roy Tennant -- Library Journal, 9/15/2007

Two events this year are ushering in a new era of openness—both in the source code and the file formats of commercial software. Adobe and Microsoft have announced technologies that are open and transparent (see “IDPF Hosts Digital Book 2007,” LJ 6/1/07, p. 27ff.). It is hard to overestimate the impact of these developments, since much of what they'll enable is yet to be seen. Still, they represent enormous potential for anyone interested in libraries, information technology, and coming digital services.

Tags Help Make Libraries Del.icio.us - 9/15/2007 - Library Journal

Tags Help Make Libraries Del.icio.us - 9/15/2007 - Library Journal.

Tags Help Make Libraries Del.icio.us
Social bookmarking and tagging boost participation
By Melissa L. Rethlefsen -- Library Journal, 9/15/2007

Traditional library web products, whether online public access catalogs, library databases, or even library web sites, have long been rigidly controlled and difficult to use. Patrons regularly prefer Google's simple interface. Now social bookmarking and tagging tools help librarians bridge the gap between the library's need to offer authoritative, well-organized information and their patrons' web experience.

“Librarians are so careful about what is bought for the print collection, but then we watch our googlers race around the Internet among unedited and ill-founded and repetitive single-page resources. [Using del.icio.us] is our attempt to select suitable material, to post it without delay, and to provide access points and comments on content,” says school librarian Jan Radford, whose Delany Library (Delany College, Granville, Australia) is embracing del.icio.us, LibraryThing, and other social tools.

[Here are links to the del.icio.us accounts of libraries mentioned in this article, and more.]

MyLibrary | A Digital Library Framework & Toolbox

MyLibrary | A Digital Library Framework & Toolbox.

MyLibrary Home Page 2.0
Posted on September 12th, 2007 by Eric Lease Morgan

I’m going to call this MyLibrary Home Page 2.0. For a long, long time the home page of MyLibrary was on a other host. That computer is aging, and the software has matured. While things can always be improved, this is now going to be called the official, canonical home page of MyLibrary. It is complete with documentation, demonstrations, production-level applications, sample code, and a mailing list. Let’s see what we can do to build a community. Tags: General Information

Calling all programmers and library catalog builders.. here's the new site and home for MyLibrary.. I hope some users and implementors continue on this curve.. we should be able to do these things, at minimum, with the tools provided.. and on that, we can build further.. be sure and check out the ReadMe pages...

 

Internet A Double Challenge For Libraries, Struggling With Too Few Computers & Not Enough Bandwidth - CBS News

Internet A Double Challenge For Libraries, Struggling With Too Few Computers & Not Enough Bandwidth - CBS News.

Internet A Double Challenge For Libraries
Struggling With Too Few Computers & Not Enough Bandwidth
NEW YORK, Sept. 12, 2007

(AP) YouTube, online job applications and homework help sites have boosted demand and contributed to lines for Internet access at the nation's public libraries, yet a new survey finds the majority have no immediate plans to add computers.

For many library systems, the buildings simply do not have enough room, and their electrical wiring couldn't deliver the required power. Others are already struggling to stay open, buy books and encourage youths to read.

"We have this entirely brand new service coming to libraries, but the funding has not recognized that," said Kathleen Reif, director of the St. Mary's County Library in Leonardtown, Md. "We're still continuing the books, the outreach, the work with young children and the student support."

A new study from the American Library Association finds the average number of public Internet terminals largely unchanged since 2002, yet only 1 in 5 libraries say they have enough computers to meet demand at all times.

I added the link to the study...

Libraries Connect Communities: Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study 2006-2007 Report| ALA | 2006-2007 Report

Libraries Connect Communities: Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study 2006-2007 Report| ALA | 2006-2007 Report.

Libraries Connect Communities: Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study 2006-2007 Report

Download complete Libraries Connect Communities: Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study 2006-2007 (PDF: 6 MBs)

The 2007 study also is available in sections...

If you can read through it all, a couple hundred pages, check out the "Executive Brief: The State of Technology and Funding in U.S. Public Libraries in 2007, Compiled by: Larra Clark, Denise M. Davis."

Librophiliac Love Letter: A Compendium of Beautiful Libraries (Curious Expeditions)

Librophiliac Love Letter: A Compendium of Beautiful Libraries (Curious Expeditions).

Librophiliac Love Letter: A Compendium of Beautiful Libraries

Everyone has some kind of place that makes them feel transported to a magical realm. For some people it's castles with their noble history and crumbling towers. For others it's abandoned factories, ivy choked, a sense of foreboding around every corner. For us here at Curious Expeditions, there has always been something about libraries. Row after row, shelf after shelf, there is nothing more magical than a beautiful old library.

We had a chance to see just such a library on our recent visit to Prague. Tucked away on the top of a hill in Prague is the Strahov Monestary, the second oldest monastery in Prague. Inside, divided into two major halls, is a breathtaking library. The amazing Theological Hall contains 18,000 religious texts, and the grand Philosophical Hall has over 42,000 ancient philosophical texts. Both are stunningly gorgeous. Strahov also contains a beautiful cabinet of curiosities, including bits of a Dodo bird, a large 18th century electrostatic device, numerous wonderfully old ocean specimens, and for unclear reasons many glass cases full of waxen fruit. Our delight was manifest.

Shocked into a library induced euphoria, Curious Expeditions has attempted to gather together the world's most beautiful libraries for you starting with our own pictures of Strahov. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Top 25 Librarian Bloggers (By the Numbers) | OEDb

Top 25 Librarian Bloggers (By the Numbers) | OEDb.

Top 25 Librarian Bloggers (By the Numbers)
Published on Tuesday 4th of September, 2007

At OEDb, we understand the importance of libraries to education and research. In fact, we recently launched our own Library 2.0-themed blog, iLibrarian. Recently, our interest in the amount of blogs authored by librarians begged the question: which librarian bloggers have the biggest reach? With nowhere to turn to answer this question definitively, we thought it would be an interesting exercise to rank all of the biggest blogs by librarians.

In ranking the top librarian blogs, our goal was to show — using objective data from reliable sources — which blogs are the most popular, according to visitor traffic and site backlinks.

Ratz, DrWeb's Domain didn't make the lists, but then, I don't try to be "big" or "important".. my blog is an old-style "link" blog mostly, with some occasional think pieces and longer essays thrown in.. congrats to the top bloggers, they are one cool group, and yep, I read them all...

Envisioning the Next Chapter for Electronic Books - New York Times

Envisioning the Next Chapter for Electronic Books - New York Times.

Envisioning the Next Chapter for Electronic Books
By BRAD STONE, Published: September 6, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 5 — Technology evangelists have predicted the emergence of electronic books for as long as they have envisioned flying cars and video phones. It is an idea that has never caught on with mainstream book buyers.

Two new offerings this fall are set to test whether consumers really want to replace a technology that has reliably served humankind for hundreds of years: the paper book.

In October, the online retailer Amazon.com will unveil the Kindle, an electronic book reader that has been the subject of industry speculation for a year, according to several people who have tried the device and are familiar with Amazon’s plans. The Kindle will be priced at $400 to $500 and will wirelessly connect to an e-book store on Amazon’s site.

Maps lead to a public jewel - The Boston Globe

Maps lead to a public jewel - The Boston Globe.

Maps lead to a public jewel
Donor's $10m gift lets library display priceless collection
By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe Staff  |  September 6, 2007

Retired Boston developer and map aficionado Norman B. Leventhal is contributing $10 million for a permanent endowment of the Boston Public Library's map center, the library's largest gift ever.

In an announcement to be made at the library today, Leventhal, who built a significant piece of Boston's skyline and who last week turned 90, is also making a long-term loan to the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center of 178 of his most valuable historic maps of Boston, New England, and the world.

Leventhal and library executives created the center, now in several rooms open to the public only by appointment, about three years ago.